A MUM spoke of her joy at the miraculous recovery of her young son 12 months after he was shot by an airgun and almost killed.

A MUM spoke of her joy at the miraculous recovery of her young son 12 months after he was shot by an airgun and almost killed.

Ben Ellams needed emergency surgery to remove a pellet from his skull after being found with severe head injuries near his home in West Bank, Widnes, last June.

Doctors feared Ben may have suffered brain damage but his mum Gillian Grace today revealed he made an almost complete recovery.

Paramedics found Ben lying alongside the A533 Queensway dual carriageway. He had been shot by a 12-year-old boy.

Gillian, 30, and Ben's father, Mark Ellams, maintained a bedside vigil at Walton neurocentre as Ben fought for life.

He remained in hospital for two months and was confined to a wheelchair for three. The youngster also had to learn how to talk, walk, read and write again.

Daily rehabilitation and physiotherapy sessions continued at Alder Hey hospital until February and Gillian says that she's "got my son back again".

She said: "He's done better than everybody thought, he's still mischievous and a bit naughty but you don't mind that, do you?

"He was talking within about three months but his left arm is still a bit weakened. Apart from that, he's just a normal little boy."

The final hurdle on his painstaking recovery process was cleared in April when Ben returned to West Bank primary school in Widnes.

Gillian said the past year had been frustrating at times for Ben and herself but expressed delight at the contrast between life now and the anxious hours as he clung onto life.

She added: "It was like having a baby again to begin with. It's been slow and hard but when it's your son you get on with it.

"A year ago seems like a distant dream, I don't think it hit me properly until four days later when he was woken up.

"He was quite advanced at school before it happened, he's a bit below what he was but is catching up well. He gets involved in everything and plays football in goal and his speech is fine. He's done really well and I am really proud of him."